Domestic Abuse (Scotland) Act 2018 - male victims' experiences of the criminal justice system: emerging findings

Footnotes

1. The full wording of the requirement can be found here: Domestic Abuse (Scotland) Act 2018 (legislation.gov.uk)

2. Lombard, N. et al. (2022) Domestic Abuse (Scotland) Act 2018 and the Criminal Justice System: Women's Experiences, SCCJR; Houghton, C. et al. (2022) Domestic Abuse Court Experiences Research: the perspectives of victims and witnesses in Scotland, The Scottish Government.

3. Police Scotland, the Scottish Government Scottish Crime and Justice Survey (SCJS), the Crown Office & Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS), the Scottish Government Criminal Proceedings in Scotland statistics.

4. Domestic abuse: statistics recorded by the Police in Scotland - 2020/21

5. Domestic abuse: statistics recorded by the Police in Scotland - 2020/21

6. Scottish Government Scottish Crime and Justice Survey (SCJS)

7. Domestic Abuse and Stalking Charges in Scotland 2020-21

8. Criminal proceedings in Scotland, 2020-21

9. Involvement with one or more of the following agencies; Police Scotland, Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service, Scottish Court Service, Scottish Prison Service, Parole Board, Defence solicitors

10. Lombard, N. et al. (2022) Domestic Abuse (Scotland) Act 2018 and the Criminal Justice System: Women's Experiences, SCCJR The women's survey ran from May to September 2021. The survey was part of a wider Justice Analytical Services Grant research programme on improving the evidence base around the experiences of users of the justice system which included research on women's experiences of the criminal justice system having reported coercive control, stalking and related crimes.

11. The emphasis of the adapted survey was on court experiences and victim experiences to reflect the reporting requirement. This meant that some content including questions about being falsely accused by the perpetrator and detailed questions about pre-court experiences were not included.

12. Many of these included optional open text boxes provided after most set questions to allow respondents to answer the survey in a way that worked for them.

13. See Armstrong, S. et al. (2020) Measuring Justice: Defining Concepts, Developing Practice, SCCJR; Researching emotionally sensitive subjects (UK Government, 2019)

14. Although the Act came into effect at the start of 2019, the full course of conduct – for DASA Section 1 offences - has to have taken place on or after 1 April 2019.

15. Lombard, N. et al. (2022) Domestic Abuse (Scotland) Act 2018 and the Criminal Justice System: Women's Experiences, SCCJR

16. Approximately 30 questions

17. Lombard, N. et al. (2022) Domestic Abuse (Scotland) Act 2018 and the Criminal Justice System: Women's Experiences, SCCJR

18. Survey respondents who indicated they had had criminal justice system involvement relating to two perpetrators were asked to answer questions relating to the case that had involved the most criminal justice contact. All respondents confirmed at the start of the survey that they have had involvement, as a victim/survivor of domestic abuse, with the Scottish Criminal Justice System since the implementation of the Act.

19. It is not known what the nature of the false report was.

20. No further information was provided by the respondent.

21. Not all cases referred to by respondents were necessarily assessed by the Procurator Fiscal, some may have not progressed after the report to the police. Respondents understanding and perceptions of the criminal justice system may not necessarily reflect the precise operations and running of the system e.g. where a victim refers to 'the courts' they may or may not be referencing COPFS.

22. Questions in the survey received fewer than 5 responses were excluded from the analysis.

23. Two of these respondents attended court as a victim. One of these respondents went to court as both the victim and as the accused. One respondent had only attended a plea hearing.

24. At any stage of the court process

25. Three of these respondents attended court as the accused. One of these respondents went to court as a both victim and as the accused.

26. The survey did not include questions about voluntary sector organisations. As noted, it was adapted from an existing survey so as to allow for comparison, and was shortened to focus on key research questions.

27. 15 respondents answered this question.

28. Lombard, N. et al. (2022) Domestic Abuse (Scotland) Act 2018 and the Criminal Justice System: Women's Experiences, SCCJR

29. While the survey approach remained broadly consistent with the women's survey to allow for general comparison where possible/appropriate, the data and findings are not directly comparable.

30. McCarrick, J. et al. (2016) Men's Experiences of the Criminal Justice System Following Female Perpetrated Intimate Partner Violence. Journal of Family Violence 31, 203–213.

31. Hogan, K. (2016) Men's experiences of female-perpetrated intimate partner violence: A qualitative exploration. (Thesis). University of the West of England.

32. Bates, E.A. (2020) "No one would ever believe me": an exploration of the impact of intimate partner violence victimization on men. Psychology of Men and Masculinities 21, 497-407.